Socket for vacuum tubes and the like



Oct. 22, 1935. E. F. BESsEY 2,017,940

socKET FonvAcuUM TUBES AND THE LIKE Filed Jan. 14, 1933 mmm ilatented'Oct. .22, 1935 AUNITED STATES socxn'r Fon VACUUM TUBES AND 'rimLnrn Edward F. Besse'y, Crystal Lake, Ill., assignor, by mesneassignments, to Cinch *Manufacturing Corporation, a corporation ofIllinois Application January 14, 1933, Serial No. 651,691 (ci. 17a-sas)14 Claims.

the contact of the present invention resides in the fact that the bodyportion of the contact is in the form of a thin sheet metal springmember which extends longitudinally along the rod-like contact and makescontact with the rod-like contact member along more than two lines ofcontact extending longitudinally of the contact so that relative endwisemovement of the rod-like contact clears more than two lines of contactalong the body portion of the contact. 'I'he endwise movement of theprong or rod-like contact causes a highly beneficial wiping or cleaningeect along these lines of contact due to the relatively limited areas ofengagement which the contact of the present invention has upon thesurface of the pin i b v Another importantl and advantageous featureresides in thefact that the lines of contact not only are increased tomore than two but are arranged to grip and hold the pin terminals orrodlike contacts and the tube carrying such contacts firmly in place inthe radio set and against vibrating loose. The virtue of this, as hasbeen amply demonstrated-by actual commercial use, is that the tubes maybe assembled in the set in the man ner to provide the best results andthe set may be shipped or distributed with the tubes in place andwithout danger of their vibrating loose in shipment. The purchaser isthus assured` of the best possible results, and this feature also hasgreat virtue in connection with radio sets installed in automobiles orother moving vehicles subject to vibration. Under such circumstances,`the contact of the present invention will hold the rodlike contactsrmly in place and against loosening by the vibration of the vehicle orotherobjec uponwhi'ch the set is arranged.

In the form of the invention herein illustrated,

certain of the lines of contact are formed byedges which have knife-edgecontact with the pin terminal. 'This reduces contact resistance and,although it provides an additional advantage in the present contact, itis, in itself, not an essential feature of the present invention.

.'Ihe real virtues are the high unit-.pressures obtained along linesextending in the direction of insertion or removal of the rod-likecontact, the

on the line 3-3 of Figure 2 with a tube` prong [PATENT yol-Fljcifzincreased contact, and thereby the increased electrical efficiencyproduced by providing more than two lines of contact, and thev grippingand holding of the rod-like contact and tube rmly in place andv againstvibratingloose which is f5 obtained by providing more than .two lines ofcontact and arranging the same according tothe present invention.

Another feature resides in the fact that.` the contact of the presentinvention requires very l0` little material and is simple andinexpensive in construction.

While the particular contact which I shall describe hereinafter inconnection with the drawing provides three lines of contact with the pinor 16.

rod-like terminal of the tube, it is to be understood that thepresentinvention is not limited to three lines of contact, but isintended to include four `lines of contact or any desired number oftions of the present invention.

In order to acquaint those skilled in the art with the construction andoperation of the present inx vention, I shall now describe an embodimentof 25.

the invention in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which: l,Figure 1 is a top plan view of a-socket embodying the present invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken on 30 the line 2-2 ofFigure 1 and showing a. radio tube in spaced relation therewith;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary detail section taken inserted; f v

Figure 4 is a detail cross-section through one of therod-like contactsand the engaging and gripping portion of the socket contact along the 4line 4-4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a view showing one of the tube con-l 40 tacts in at formafter shaping but before bringing the same to 'the form shown in Figure6;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of one of the tube contacts t Figure 7-is a fragmentary section `through the 4K.

50 Referring to the drawing, the socket shown y in Figures 1 and 2includes a base l comprising upper and lower thin plates 2 and 3 formedof fiber or other suitable or preferred insulating material. sa

I RElssuED The insulating plates 2 and 3 have mounting ears 4 providedwith registering perforations 5 for receiving screws or other suitablefasteners for attaching the socket Vto the panel or other support. Aguide disc 6, also preferably of fiber or other suitable insulatingmaterial, is mounted on the upper side of the plate 2 substantiallycentrally thereof to guide the prongs -or rod-like contacts 1, 1 of thevacuum or thermionlc tube or other electrical device, shownfragmentarily at 8, into the holes 9, 9'. A hollow. rivet I0 passescentrally through the plates `2 and 3 and through the disc Sand isheaded over at its opposite ends to clamp the plates 2 and) rigidlytogether and the disc 6 rigidly in place.

The' holes 9 are arranged in pairs through the plates 2 and 3 inregistration as will hereinafter ssV appear, and the holes 9' arecorrespondingly' arranged in pairs through the plates 2 and 3. VInthenembodiment of Figures 2 and 3, these registering pairs of holes 9,9' are uniformly spaced circularly about the disc 6 with their edgescoinciding with. the edge .or periphery of the disc 8. In inserting therod-likecontacts or prongs 1, 1' into the holes 9, 9 the tube 9 isbrought, to the position in which the ends of the prongs 1, 1'circumscribe the guide disc 6. Hencethe guide 6 is a suitable internalguide for the prongs or rodlike contacts 1, 1' to guide them forcircumferential motion until they register with the desired holes 9, 9'.The prongs 1, 1', upon registration with the desired holes 9, 9', areprojected endwise or longitudinally through the registering holes in theplates 2 and 3 and into engagement with thev contacts I2. To remove thetubefrom the socket, it is moved away from the base I to withdraw theprongs 1, 1' endwise -from the contacts I2 and holes 9, 9'.

In order to assure that the tube 8 will be placed in the socket Iproperly, that is, with the properV prongs 1, 1' in engagement with theproper contacts I2, two of the prongs are of larger diameter, asindicated at 1' in Figure 2, than the other four prongs 1, and two ofthe holes, as

indicated at 9', are of correspondingly larger diameter than the'otherfour holes 9. In inserting the tube into the socket, the operator neednot concern himself further than to set the ends of the terminal 1, 1 onthe plate '2 over the guide disc 6 and then turn the tube axially untilthe proper orientation is had. This is determined by the diameter of theholes 9, 9' and the diameter of the terminals 1, 1', respectively, thesediameters being such as to enable the tube to be applied tothe socket inonly one circumferentially defined relative position.

n One of the contacts I2 is positioned at each of the holes 9, 9'. Thesecontacts preferably are made of spring brass or German silver, althoughthey may be of bronze or any other suitable spring material. They areblanked out in the flat tothe configuration shown in Figure 5 by a'suitable blanking die to form the intermediate mounting or seat portionII with the integral contact making portion I8 at one end and theintegral connecting or terminal 'lug I1 at the opposite end. Afterblanking out the contact inflat form to the configuration shown inFigure 5, the contact making portion I8 is turned down to lie atsubstantially right angles to the mounting or seat portion I5. Thevterminal lus I1 is turned down to substantially the position shown withits lower end turnedv out slightly for ease in connecting the desiredleads or conductors thereto. The opposite sides I8 of theback I9 of thedown-turned contact making portion Il are turned forwardly at an obtuseangle I9' to form a vertical median line of contact 20 and the oppositeends of these forwardly turned sides I 8 are turned in at acute angles2l to present two 5 vertical edges 22. l

The edges 22 present two relatively sharp lines of contact against eachof the'rod-like contacts or termin-als 1, 1' longitudinally thereof'andthe vertical median line 20 at-the back I9 presents w a third lineofcontact against each of the rodlike contacts or terminals 1, 1' uponprojection of the terminals 1, 1' into engagement with the contacts I2.'I'he three lines of contact 20, 22, 22` are spaced apart around therod-like contacts 15 1, 1' distances less than the thickness or diameterof the rod-likecontacts to center said contacts between them, and thelines of contact 29,

22, 22 of each contact are preferably normally pressed together so thatthey will be spread slight.- 20 ly and will be pressed 'or tensionedtightlylby the springiness of the contacts I2 against the surfaces ofthe rod-like contacts upon projection of the same therebetween. A

When the rod-like contacts- 1, 1' are inserted 25 into the socket, theyare guided longitudinally by the edgesy 22, 22 and the third line ofcontact 29 which are pressed or tensioned rmly against the surfaces ofthe prongs of the tube.

The presentation of the two ,edges 22, the sheet metal spring contacts.and` the third longitudinal line of contact 29 tends to develop highunit pressure along the three lines of kengagement 20, 22, 22, therebygripping and holding the rod-like contacts firmly in place sothat thetubes 36 maybe assembled inthe setin the manner to provide the bestresults land the set shipped or distributedwith the tubes in place andwithout danger of their .vibratin loose in shipment'. As Y alreadyexplained, this 811991118 and hold- 49 `lng of the terminals 1, n' alsohas virtue in connection with sets ins lled in automobiles or otherlmoving vehicles subject to vibration. Un der such circumstances, thisgripping engagement withthe rod-like contacts will hold these contactsrmly in place and against 'loosening by the vibration of the vehicle orother object upon which the set is arranged. v The presentation of thetwo 'edges of the sheet metal and the third line of contact tends to GQscour or clean three lines of contact on each stud. Any dirt or scalewhich might tend to become interposed will be cut or rubbed oil anddisplaced from the lines of contact. The termi-V hal studs 1, 1' areguided initially by the holes 55 9, 9'v and for anyspringiness orwobbling action of the studs 1, 1" permitted by the guide holes 9, 9'the contacts I2 may provide suicient resiliency to permit the samewithout impairing the contacting and gripping action and without persamarient deformation of the springs. And the relatively sharp edgespresented by the two edges 22, 22 reduces the contact resistance. Thecontact making portions .I9 are, in` effect, selfaligning or oating inaction. l

n The'contact clips I2 may be tin-plated for ease in soldering and, inmaking up'the socket, the contacts I2 are applied to the vinsulatingplate 3 by passing the down-turned contact making portions I6 throughthe holes 9, 9' in the plate 7o 9 and the terminal lugs I1 pass throughopenings 25 in the plate 3. The mountingor seating portions 15 aresnapped down to lie substantially fiat upon the upper surface of theplate 3.

In order to hold the contact springs I2 in 75piaceonthelowerbaseplateluntiltheupper bm plate 2 is applied and securedin place. the terminal lugs I1 have small protuberances 26 which may becenter-punched "therein, These protuberances are adapted'to be snappedbeneath'the lower base plate 3 in applying the i contacts I2 theretoandhold the contacts in place until the plate 2 is applied and secured tothe plate 3. This retention is suiilcient to permit handling and eventurning the plate] upside down without' displacing the contacts I2.Theoplnings9,3intheplate3areshapcdto receive e down-turned contactmaking portion I6 and preferably positioned to dispose nor' mally thelines of contact 28, 22, 22 slightly inwardly of the circular openings 9in .the plate 2, as shown in Figure 1.

The plate z is applied upon the top of the` plate 3 over the mounting orseating portions I5 of the contacts with the openings 9, 9' Yin registerwith-the openings 9, 9' in the plate 3 and with the openings 5 inregister, and is clamped rigidly to plate 3 by the central rivet I0. Forthe purpose of holding the upper ends of the contact making portions I6in place, or

at least to prevent undue downward displacement A,of the contact makingportions I6, the upper ends thereof are provided with integral lugs 28which are turned out and held between 'the plates 2 and 3. The lowerends of the terminal lugs I'I have openings 30, 3lfor attachment of thedesired leads lor conductors thereto. 'I'hese openings 30. 3l are shownof diiierent sizes Y for attachment of smaller leads or conductors tothe smaller openings 30, and if the leads or conductors are larger theymay -be fastened to invention requires very little material. And it` isbrought to form in a -simple and inexpensive manner. In fact, thecontact making portion I6 and the terminal lug I1 may beturned down andthe terminal lug and contact making portion brought to the form shown inFigure 6 in a single operation, or at least by succeeding operationswhich are simple to perform.

The embodiment of Figure 8 is substantially the same as that shown inFigures 1 to '1, except that in this case the socket Ia is provided withtive contacts I2a for cooperation with a fivepronged tube and the properdisposition of the lil'DIlgSflClletubeinthissocketisdeterminedvbyr-spacng the contacts I2`a, or at least certain oi these contacts,dierent distances circularly about the guide disc (not shown). Theregistering perforations in the plates 2a and 3a for screws or othersuitable fasteners for attaching the socket to the panel or other sup--port are indicated at 5a, and the terminal lugs -of the contact I2a areindicated at lla. The

.rivetforclampngtheplat 2aand3arigid1y together and the guide disc inplace is indicated at Illa. The formation of the contact engagingportions of the contacts i2a is substantially the 1. Asaine as in theand the fasteningofthssecontactstothebase Iuissul-stantalhthesameasbefore Inthiscase,the

prongsofthetubebeingallofthesamethicirto the precise 'details shownor-described.

upper n' is tope imderstooa that the provision of av contact having morethan two lines of contact with the rod-like terminal or prong of thetube 5 or other-device is an important aspect ofthe present invention,and that the form of the contact may be varied within the scope of theinveni tion. I do not intend, therefore, to be limited 1o I claim:

1. A- socket for receiving and establishing electric contact with arod-like contact, including an insulating base, said vbase having anaperture through which said rod-like contact mas7 be projected, and aunitary contact spring, said spring having a mounting-portion adapted tolie on a portion of saidA base adjacent said aperture to support saidspring, said spring having a contact vmaking portion extending throughsaid aperture'go and depending below said base, said contact makingportion having a back portion formed as a prolongation of said mountingportion, side portions extending only from the sides of said backportion and being bent to form an enclosed region l supporting at leastone of said side portions from said base to prevent said contact makingportion from bending atl the junctionof said mounting and contact makingportions upon insertion of said rod-like contact. r

2. The structure of claim 1, wherein said last named supporting meanscomprises at least one ear projecting from the edge of a side portion 40adjacent saidbase through said aperture to the other side of said baseand bent over -to lie along said base. i Y

3. The structure of claim 1, wherein the free edge of said mountingportion of said contact spring is extended through and below said baseto form a soldering lug.

. 4. The structure of claim 1,1?herein saidlastnamed supporting meanscomprises an ear extending from the .edge adjacent said base of eachside portion, said ears projecting through said base and being bent tolie along said base, and wherein the free edge of said mounting portionof said contact spring is projected to form a soldering lug.

said base to form a soldering lug, and a protu- 4m berance is providedin said soldering lug immee diately below said base to form a stopagainst upward displacement of said vsoldering lug.

6. The structure of claim 1, wherein said base is provided with a narrowslot adjacent said 55 aperture and the free edge of the mounting portionof said contact spring is projected through said slot to form asoldering lug, a protuberance on said soldering lug below said base andadapted to prevent said lug from casual displacement through said slotafter said spring isin position. and wherein said last-named supportingmeans comprises an ear extending from the edge adjacent said base ofeach side portion of said conhaving a mounting portion adapted to lie ona portion of said base adient said aperture to support said spring, saidspring having a contact making portion extending through said apertureand depending below said base, said contact making portion having a backportion formed as a prolongation of said mounting portion, side portionsextending only from the sides of said back portion and being bent toform an enclosed region with a pair of edges separated throughout theirentire lengthsaid edges being perpendicular to said base and parallelwith the line of movement'oi said rod-like contact and being adaptedtotightly embrace said rod-like contact, said side portions and backportion together providing a plurality of parallel line contacts and.means for supporting at least one of said side portions from said baseto prevent said contact making portion from bending at the junction y ofsaid mounting and contact makingL` portions upon insertion of saidrod-like contact, an additional insulating base superimposed on saidilrst base and having apertures aligned with said first base, theapertures on said two bases being arranged to enclose a region, andmeans within said region for maintaining said two bases in assembledrelationship.

8. The structure of claim '7, wherein said s upporting means comprisesan ear -extending from the edge adjacent said rst insulating base of atleast one side portion, said ear projecting through said rst base andbeing bent to lie between said two bases. i

9. The structure of claim 7, wherein said rst base is provided with anarrow slot adjacent each aperture, and wherein the free edge oi saidmounting portion of said contact spring is projected through said slotto form a soldering lug.

10. The structure of claim '7, wherein said rst base is provided with anarrow slot adjacent each aperture, the free edge of the mountingportion of each contact spring is projected through each slot to form asoldering lug., and wherein said supporting means comprises an earextending from the edge adjacent said first base of each side portion ofthe contact portion, each 'ear extending through said rst base only andbeing bent to lie between said two bases.

l1. A socket for receiving and establishing electric contact with thecylindrical prongs ot a 5 vacuum tube base or the like, including aninsulating base, said base having a pluralityof aliertures through whichthe prongs may be projected, and a unitary contact spring for eachaperture, said spring having a mounting portion lo adapted to overlie aportion of said base adjacent said aperture to support said spring. saidspring having a contact making portion extending through saidapertureand depending below said base in a line perpendicular to saidbase, 15 .'said contact making portion having a solid integral backportion formed as a prolongation of said mounting portion, -sideportions extending only from the sides of said back portion of saidcontact 'making portion and being bent -to form 20 an enclosed regionwith a pair of edges separated throughout their entire length, saidedges being perpendicular to said base and parallel with the line ofmovement of said rod-like contact and being adapted tightly to embracesaid rod-like 25 contact, the entire contact making portion having itsupper portion within said aperture and being so shaped as to define. agenerally cylindroidal space with the axis perpendicular to the base,said contact spring being adapted to 30' tightly.v grip the cylindricalprong of a vacuum tube base, between the two open edges and the backportion of said contact making portion.

12. The structure oi claim 11; wherein the insulating base is providedwith a narrow slot ad- .35 jacent each aperture and wherein each contactspring has a mounting portion extended through said slot to form asoldering lug.

13.- The structure of claim 1l, wherein said insulating b aseis providedwith a narrow slot ad'- o jacent each aperture, and wherein the mountingportion oi' said contact spring is projected through said aperture toform a soldering lug and wherein a protuberance is provided in a portion`oi? the soldering lug immediately below said insulating base. A 14. Thestructure of claim 1, wherein the cross-section of said contact-makingportion is of such shape that a rod-like contact passing therethroughmakes the line contacts therewith only at the back portion and the freeedges of,- the side portions.

EDWARD F. BESBEY.

